A war memorial to veterans from the village of Churton is a step closer thanks to a Chester pub.

Customers at The Albion pub contributed £130 raised from a Somme Centenary Dinner to the memorial fund.

Landlord at The Albion Mike Mercer said: “We have been holding a number of events over the last couple of years to commemorate the major battles and milestones of the Great War, so it was entirely fitting to use these events to help honour the men from Churton who served and died.”

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The Churton War Memorial Committee was formed in 2015 after local residents expressed overwhelming support for the idea of a new memorial.

Committee chairman John Gallagher said: “There were at least seven Churton men who died in World War One and one in World War Two, none of whom are buried in Britain and their sacrifice is not publically recorded within their native village.

“As the village was so small and compact, these seven men would undoubtedly have known one another and records show that they all lived within a hundred metres of each other.”

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The committee is still researching each veteran alongside continuing efforts to raise funds to build the monument itself. The design has been developed by local architect Sandra Murray and was granted planning permission earlier this month. It will be constructed of local red sandstone and positioned adjacent to Churton Village Hall.

John added: “We need to raise £12,000 in total, and are hoping to have the memorial erected by November 2018, so it’s fantastic news that customers at The Albion were so keen to help out.”